Top 50 European banks by total assets

HSBC remains atop SNL Financial's ranking of Europe's 50 largest banks by total assets for the third successive year, although its position was distorted by the fall in the euro against the dollar and other major currencies.

BNP Paribas SA remained in second place and was the only other European bank to cross the €2 trillion asset mark in SNL's pro forma ranking, which is adjusted for recent and pending M&A.

The reported assets used in SNL's pro forma ranking were converted to euros using end-of-period exchange rates where applicable. However, SNL also created an adjusted ranking in which the reported currency for non-euro filers was converted using a June 10, 2015, valuation. The euro closed at $1.1307 on June 10, according to SNL Financial data, having been worth $1.0734 at March 31, 2015, $1.2105 at Dec. 31, 2014, and $1.3687 at June 30, 2014.